The Joining of Hands
by tickwordstockwords
Summary: Someone overhears Rose telling Mickey about what happened during "Tooth and Claw", and she is placed in a psychiatric facility. The Doctor disappears and Rose is left to deal with the situation on her own.
1. Chapter One

_**A/N:**_Hi! This has taken me ages to finally get up, but here it is at last! If you read and review, I'll love you forever and ever. I own nothing (but I'm working on changing that, hehehe) and this is un-beta'd. All mistakes are shamefully mine. (And I'm looking for a beta so if you are interested, then let me know!)_  
_

Onwards!

_Prologue_

Mrs. Hammel stepped out of the shop, wondering about her son, Harold, who had recently been promoted to bank manager. How is his daughter, Ann? How did her piano recital go? She was sad to have missed seeing Ann, but she was glad she missed out on having to sit through three hours of discordant plunking of the keys on the piano by Ann and the other young students. She was interrupted mid-thought when a blonde-haired young woman bumped into her. "Oh! I'm so sorry, ma'am! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dear," Mrs. Hammel replied. The blonde woman gave her a smile and turned back to her companion, a handsome young black man.

"Anyways," she said to him, "that's when the Doctor licked the woodwork and told us that the werewolf was allergic to mistletoe!" Mrs. Hammel stopped walking and gasped. Did she hear correctly? Was the young woman mad? The blonde woman turned back to Mrs. Hammel when she heard the gasp and asked, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, dear," she said, "I'm just catching my breath. I think I need to go and sit down." She turned away from the two and quickly hobbled away. She tucked inside a nearby café and sat down in one of the armchairs. She was still for a while, thinking the situation over. After a bit, she pulled out her phone. "Yes, hello, I'd like to report a woman. I think she's mad. She was talking very seriously about werewolves. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, and dark eyebrows. She was wearing a t-shirt decorated with the Union Jack. She and her companion, a young black man, looked like they were headed to the market. You're welcome. Yes. Goodbye." There was a click, and she put down the phone. She decided to stay in the café for a while. Who knows what the madwoman might do in the market?

_Day One_

She was holding the avocados when they approached her and Mickey in the market. They ushered her into a police car and thirty minutes later they arrived at a large, white building with the words _Sutter Psychiatric Facility _over the doors. The officers led her through the front doors to the desk in the middle of the room, where one of them spoke quickly and quietly to the woman at the desk. The woman led them to another door, and closed it once they had gone through. She was led to the nursing station, where she was given a plastic bracelet with her information on it. When the nurse finished clipping the excess plastic off of the bracelet and Rose turned around, the officers had gone. An attendant came up to Rose and said "This way, honey." Rose followed the attendant past the nursing station, past the dayroom, and down a dark hallway lined with doors on both sides. The attendant knocked on one of the doors at the end of the hallway. "Hey, Charlie, I've got a roommate for you. Her name is Rose." She pushed open the door.

The room contained two beds, two shelves, two tables attached firmly to the wall, and one bathroom. On the bed closest to the door sat a young woman. She had short red hair poking out from underneath a beanie, slanted green eyes, a pointed chin, and freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. She was hunched up against the wall with her knees up and there was a notebook resting against her thighs in which she was writing furiously. "Charlie," the attendant repeated, a little louder this time. Charlie jerked in response, sending her notebook flying onto the floor.

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't see you there. Hi. Charlie. That's me," she said. The attendant smiled and left, leaving Rose standing alone in the doorway, wide-eyed. "Don't worry," Charlie said with a smile, stretching her long legs out, "I'm only a danger to myself, not to others." She nodded her head towards the other bed. "That one's yours." Rose went over to the bed and sat down.

"I'm Rose," she said, since Charlie hadn't heard the attendant's introduction.

"Ooh, that's pretty. I love when people are named after plants. Lily, Willow, Rose, Heather, Ivy, Rose, they're all wonderful." Rose laughed at that.

"Oh, I agree! I knew a girl named Fern when I was younger. She was very mean, but I have always loved her name."

"I'm not _entirely _crazy, then, that's good." They both giggled, and Charlie went to pick up her notebook. "Hey, did you see what time it was when you were by the nursing station?"

"I think it was 4:30."

"Oh thank goodness, dinner's at five and I am starving."

"So, what are you writing about?" Rose asked, eyeing Charlie's notebook, "I mean, don't tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious."

"Well, I'm writing a letter. I do this a lot. I started writing letters a year ago, when I got a job at a bookstore. That's when I started thinking. Don't get me wrong, I've always had a brain, I just never really used it until I—until I got the job. But for the past year I've been so full of thoughts and emotions that I've just needed to get it out somewhere. I never send the letters, and I don't think I ever will. I just write them so that I don't explode."

"Who are you writing to?"

"Everyone, really, even people I haven't talked to in years. Even people whose funerals I've attended."

"Oh," Rose feared that she had poked something that should have been left alone.

"Don't worry," Charlie said, smiling at Rose, "I'm done mourning. There are things that I just never got to say, and sometimes I miss being able to talk to them."

There was a knock at the door, and a nurse poked her head inside the room. "Five o'clock, ladies, it's dinner time."

Charlie swung her legs off the bed and walked towards the door. Rose was surprised to see that when Charlie stood up, she was very tall and very thin. She didn't look unhealthy, her shape fit her, but she reminded Rose of the models she saw in the fashion magazines she looked through whenever she went to the hairdresser. Rose shook herself, and followed Charlie out of the room.

Charlie led Rose through the unit and to the set of doors leading out into the hallway where the other patients were waiting. A nurse came over and unlocked the door, ushering them through. Rose went to follow everyone else through the doors, but the nurse held out her hand. "Sorry, honey, but you need to do a few things before you're allowed off the unit. Go over to the nursing station and ask Helen what you need to do. Don't worry; I'll bring a dinner back for you." She pointed past Rose, towards the nursing station, then left.

Rose went over to the nursing station and asked the woman sitting behind the desk, who she assumed to be Helen, "Hi, um, I'm not allowed to leave the unit until I do something? The other nurse told me to talk to you." Helen nodded and rummaged around in a drawer, pulling out a small, clear container.

"Tonight all you can do is pee in this here cup," she said. Rose blinked. "Tomorrow morning before breakfast the phlebotomist will be here and she'll take a blood sample. You'll be able to leave the unit after that." She held out the container, and Rose took it gingerly. "You don't need to do it right away, and if you need it there's a water jug on the table by the telephones and there should be cups over there, too." Rose thanked her and started to walk away when it struck her that Jackie had no idea what was going on. Well, Mickey had probably filled her in, but Rose needed to talk to her mother. Well, if she was being honest, the person she really needed to talk to was the Doctor, but she knew Jackie would throw a fit if Rose didn't call her.

"Helen? Can I use the phone?"

"Yeah, I'll turn them on for you. You have to dial nine first, by the way."

"Thanks." Rose took the container and went over to one of the phones. She poked in Jackie's number and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom, it's me, Rose."

Jackie Tyler verbally flailed for a while, and Rose let herself zone out.

"And he's just _gone! _Mickey and I tried to tell him but when we went to the alley the TARDIS was gone and he's not answering our calls and —"

"Hold on a mo', _the Doctor's gone?_"

"—the complete arse, how could he just leave? I could slap him! I _will_ slap him!" Jackie continued, oblivious to Rose.

Rose stood there, letting her mother babble away in her ear while the reality of the situation rushed through her. She was in the loony bin, the Doctor was gone, and she had no idea how she was going to get out. The Doctor wasn't around to flash the psychic paper or unlock the doors with his sonic screwdriver, and Rose had the feeling that this wasn't a situation that she could flirt or fight her way out of. She allowed herself a minute or two of panic and terror, then set her shoulders and got to thinking.

_Okay, what do I have to work with? I've got the clothes on my back and that's it as far as materials go; they have my purse locked away somewhere. I may not have my A-levels, but I do have a brain, and I've learned to be resourceful. I've got mum and Mickey on call, and more importantly I've got the motivation to get out of here in order to give that two-hearted, spiky-haired git a piece of my mind. What I need to do is figure out how this place works. I'll talk to Charlie about it tonight, but first things first._

"Mum? I don't know how long I'll be here. Think you can bring me some clothes and my toiletries?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure sweetie. I'll be over at seven for visiting hours."

"How'd you know when those are?"

"I called the nurse earlier and she told me."

"Alright, love ya."

"You, too. 'Bye."

Rose hung up the phone and looked over at the clock. It was 5: 50. Rose looked at the pee cup on the table, sighed, picked it up and walked back to her room.

.&.

Charlie sat at the end of the long table and picked at her food, her thoughts jumping back and forth.

_ Rose is . . . unusual. She hasn't said anything weird, there's just something about her. She looks normal, even clean, which is more that I can say of most of the people here. She would stick out here for just that but there's something behind her eyes, something wild and burning. What's the source of the flame? What has she seen that set her soul on fire?_

_Oh, shut up you flowery, nosy nincompoop. She's just a girl, albeit a girl with issues considering where we are. You need to get back to reality; she's not some mysterious character in a book, she's a girl in a psych ward. Get your shit together, Charlie. If there's anything burning behind her eyes, it's the last remnants of her sanity. _

She attempted a bite of mashed potatoes and nearly gagged, seriously regretting that decision.

.

.&.

Rose returned the pee-cup to the nursing station just as the other patients were returning from dinner. A nurse handed Rose her dinner and she went and sat down on the couch in the dayroom. Charlie came and sat down next to her.

"Hey,"

"Hey, I would avoid the mashed potatoes if I were you," warned Charlie as Rose removed the cover plate. They both looked at the offending potatoes for a moment. Rose sniffed them and jerked backwards, the plate wobbling dangerously on her knee.

"That is—that is vile. Oh my gosh."

"Yup. The food here is utilitarian with the occasional dash of mold and terror."

Rose picked glumly at her food, thinking fondly of an omelet the Doctor once made for her. It had been after an adventure that had kept them up for days. When they had finally returned to the TARDIS they crashed on the couch in the library without even considering walking all the way to their separate rooms. She woke up the next morning when the Doctor picked her up off the couch, blankets and all, and carried her into the kitchen. He sat her down in one of the chairs, plunked a steaming mug of coffee on the table in front of her, and for the next few minutes all she could focus on was the glorious rush of caffeine through her system. The crunch of eggshells shook her out of her trance and she looked up to a very strange sight; the Doctor was cooking. She was strongly tempted to point out that he was breaking his whole "no domestics" rule, but she was too curious and hungry to risk pissing him off and losing a once-in-a-lifetime, Doctor-cooked breakfast. Rose's stomach growled furiously when the smell of cooking egg and cheese hit her nostrils. The Doctor turned away from the crackling pan to grin at her, and she stuck her tongue out to him. Soon they were both seated at the table with omelet-laden plates in front of them. Rose wasted no time in digging in, and it was delicious. When she gave him the thumbs-up, he beamed like a kid on Christmas morning. She kicked him under the table and he stole a forkful of omelet off of her plate in retaliation. She was too hungry to fight him for it; not only had they not slept for days, they hadn't eaten either. They continued their meal in companionable silence until the Doctor dribbled a piece of egg down his front and Rose couldn't resist a snort. He glared halfheartedly as he cleaned himself up, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

_It's no good thinking about that, Rose, he's not here and it doesn't look like he will be any time soon. Don't be a sap—_she told herself as a lump rose in her throat—_buck up; you'll get through this just fine._

Rose got up and threw away her untouched food, returning to the couch right as an attendant finished setting up the movie they were to watch. Rose missed the title, but it was an unusual American movie about cars. There were scantily-clad women in abundance and a lot of revving of engines and gun-waving and other attempts at the display of masculinity. Rose paid no attention to the movie and instead found herself trying to recall the twists and turns of the rooms and hallways of the TARDIS, making a mental map as she went. After a while, thoughts of the Doctor's unprecedented abandonment seeped through her mental stroll through the TARDIS. She fought to repress the sting of his betrayal and continued her exploration of the TARDIS.

.&.

Charlie felt Rose tense up beside her a few minutes into the movie, and Charlie looked over. Rose was staring with absently at the wall a bit below the television. Her eyes were glassy and her fists were clenched at her sides.

_ Oh, dear. I really hope she's not batty. Margo the dog-killer just left yesterday, I don't think I can handle another scary roommate. _

_ Come on, Charlie! Have a little sympathy. She just got dumped in the loony bin, she's probably pretty freaked. _

Charlie pulled her blanket off from around her shoulders and awkwardly placed it on Rose's. Rose looked over, startled out of her reverie. Rose pulled the blanket tighter around herself and smiled in thanks. She relaxed visibly and settled into the couch. They attempted to watch the movie, without either of them having any idea of what was going on, until an attendant came over to pause the movie and announce "Visiting hours!"

.&.

Rose looked over towards the nursing station and saw her mother, blonde ponytail, heavy eye makeup, pink tracksuit and all. She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to where her mother was standing. Rose could tell Jackie was nervous; she was standing stiffly and she was gripping her purse so tightly that her knuckles were white. Rose put her hand on her mother's back and Jackie jerked around to face her. She relaxed as soon as she saw Rose and had her in a tight hug in an instant.

"Hey," Rose mumbled into her mother's hair. Jackie hugged her tighter, but surprisingly remained silent. Rose started to worry. Jackie was only ever silent if she was really freaked.

"Hey, mum, it's okay, everything's gonna be okay."

Jackie pulled out of the hug, but took hold of Rose's hand. "Where can we go to talk?"

"Hell if I know, lemme ask—Helen? Where do we go to visit?"

"Your room, but I have to go with you to check what your mom brought you. It'll only take a minute, then you can have alone time." Rose nodded and led Jackie down the hallway to her room. Helen followed behind.

The door was slightly ajar and voices seeped out into the hallway as the three women approached.

"Goddamnit, Charlie, it was supposed to be temporary! And seriously, a fucking bookstore?" a voice hissed. "Alan has been calling every day, and you need to get your shit together so they don't forget about you. There are so many girls that would kill for your spot. You are an ungrateful little snot." Someone snorted.

"Why don't you tell me how you _really_ feel?" Rose the recognized the second voice as Charlie's.

"You—"

Rose and Jackie had frozen outside the door, unsure of what to do. Helen seemed to have no such qualms and knocked loudly on the door, pushing it open. Charlie and the other woman, who looked so similar to Charlie that Rose assumed it was her mother, were sitting across from each other on Charlie's bed. They both looked towards the door as it swung open, but the difference in their actions tempted Rose to laugh. Charlie's mother had snapped her neck around to fix them with a fierce glare while Charlie looked over casually and smiled warmly at the newcomers.

"Everything okay, ladies?" asked Helen.

"We're fine," Charlie's mother snapped. Charlie continued to smile. Helen raised her eyebrows, but did not comment.

"I have to do a check, so we're going to be in here for a little bit. Would you like me to get you two a visiting room?"

"No, I was just leaving," Charlie's mother said as she shot Charlie a glare. Charlie rolled her eyes as her mother stalked from the room.

"Would you like me to leave?" Charlie asked.

"No, you're fine." Rose smiled at her to show she meant it. Jackie still looked a little lost, so Rose situated her on the bed. Helen removed the contents of the bag that Jackie had brought and carefully went through them. She zipped up the bag and picked it up.

"The contents are fine, but I have to put the bag in the locker," Rose nodded her consent and Helen left with the bag. Rose settled on the bed next to her mother and looked over at Charlie.

"Mum, this is my roommate, Charlie. Charlie this is my wonderful mum."

Jackie gave Charlie a wave and a smile, but Rose could tell she was still uncomfortable. Charlie noticed it too, and told her the same thing that she had told Rose when she had arrived:

"Don't worry; I'm only a danger to myself, not others." Jackie gave her a wan smile, and turned back to Rose.

"Have you hear from the D—him?"

"No." Rose tried to hide the uncertainty in her voice, but her mother noticed and squeezed her hand.

"That ruddy bastard. When I see him I'm gonna slap 'im so hard his heads gonna spin." Rose squeezed her hand back in appreciation for her mother's rather violent way of showing she cared. "I'm sorry Rose, but I can't stay. I've gotta take gran in for her checkup. I love ya, 'kay?"

"Give my love to gran," Rose said, and kissed Jackie on the cheek.

When Jackie had left the room, Charlie turned to face Rose. "Alright, I've gotta ask, how'd you get stuck in here?"

"I was at the market with my mate Mickey when the cops showed. I guess someone had made a call saying that I was saying strange things and that they thought I was dangerous. Now I'm stuck in here. Can I ask the same for you?"

"'Course. I have a slightly more valid reason for being here than you, honestly. I swallowed a bottle of aspirin and my mum decided that it would be a great day to show up at my apartment to say hi. Needless to say, she took one look at me and next thing I knew I was in the ER. This isn't exactly the first time this has happened, either. It's the fifth. Three times during my last two years of high school, and two times in the past year. The nurses here are pretty used to me by now." She smiled and kept her tone light, but Rose detected a hint of discontent.

"I'm—I mean, wow."

"Sorry, that's kind of a lot to throw at a person in one go."

"'s okay, I just wish I could do something to help, but I'm kind of at a loss here." Charlie laughed.

"That's what everyone says, but I appreciate it nonetheless. If it makes you feel better, even the doctors don't know what to do. They throw medication after medication at me, they force me into endless hours of therapy, and somehow I keep ending up back here."

"What do you think the problem is, then? What are they missing?"

"I just keep landing in confusing and shitty situations. It's just bad luck. The one thing they're right about is that I have absolutely no respect for my body and well-being."

"Huh."

"So what's your story? What's your life like when you aren't stuck in here?" Rose thought about how to answer that. If she was honest, Charlie would start thinking she really belonged in there. But she didn't want to make up some fake life. There was something about Charlie that made her trust her. She wanted to keep her around, too. If she was stuck in here alone she didn't know what she would do.

"Well, I've got no A-levels, so I'm kind of limited as far as jobs go. I was working in Henricksen's, you know, that clothing shop?" Charlie's eyes widened.

"Wasn't that the shop that blew up? Please tell me you didn't have anything to do with that." Rose burst out laughing at Charlie's last statement.

"I wasn't the one to blow the place, no, but I was there that night. I got stuck in the basement and was freaking out when this bloke showed up and got me out. The place popped right after that. Since I was without a job, when he asked me to go traveling with him, I said yes. He's my best mate now. We were only here to visit my mum and now I'm stuck in here." Charlie gaped .

"That's quite a story!"

"Yeah. So what about you? What's your life like?"

"I work in a bookstore now, well, if I haven't lost my job for not showing up at work. But, I used to be a model. I was picked up by a scout when I was at the beach over spring break during my junior year of high school. It was everything I wanted. I got to travel, people told me I was beautiful, I got to do independent study instead of go to class every day, I was making money, and I met all sorts of important people. But that little fairytale didn't last forever. There are a lot of nasty people in the industry that use their power and position to take advantage of young girls that are far away from home. I was one of those girls. There's really nothing you can do about it when you're a million miles away from home and so many people come in and out of your life. It's really easy for them to do what they want and disappear. I tried to quit, but mum lost her job and dad's long gone, so I would have no way of paying for university unless I kept working. It didn't help that I had no way of explaining to mum what had happened. She was thoroughly determined to make me as successful as possible, and nothing was gonna get in her way. She would just claim that I was making it up because I didn't want to have to work hard. So I kept at it for a few years until I had enough money in my college fund. I was home and living with my livid mother, so I spent a lot of time at the bookstore near my house. I was there so much that the owner –Mr. Doughty—took pity on me and offered me a job. I got my own apartment, got a bird, and a year later, here I am."

"That's—wow. We're quite a pair." It felt like there was something Charlie wasn't telling her, but Rose didn't want to push it. She had told her a lot already, and it wasn't as though Rose had been entirely truthful with her either.

They decided to go back out to the dayroom to watch the rest of the movie with everyone else that didn't have visitors. Then it was time for everyone to take medication—thankfully Rose couldn't be given medication until she met with the psychiatrist, so she was okay for now—and go to their rooms. Rose changed into the pajamas her mother had brought her, and found her lids drooping with exhaustion. It had been a very eventful day. She was grateful when sleep came and saved her from thoughts of the Doctor and her unusual and frankly terrifying situation.


	2. Chapter Two

**A/N: Just so you guys know, I have been hospitalized four times in the past year alone. I know the ins and outs of the mental health system. The majority of the time, people that shouldn't be are hospitalized and the people that really ought to be hospitalized aren't. It's a fucked-up system. I've met loads of people who were hospitalized for reasons very similar to the reasons Rose was hospitalized in this story. It shouldn't be plausible, the system shouldn't work this way, but it does. It's complete shit.**

**/end rant/**

**I actually only recently was released from the hospital. I started this fic while I was there. Fun fact: a few other girls that were stuck in there with me gave me a few great ideas for the plot, and a few other patients actually asked if they could be characters in the story! Names have been changed, of course, but they're in here. . .**

**I would like to say that I am completely open to criticism, I actually find it helpful. However, I would ask that you do not post hate. It's not helpful in the least. I won't continue this story if that's all I'm going to get (and I've put a shit ton of work in to this so that would kind of suck.)**

**Sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter up. I'm in the throes of midterms so most of my time is spent studying. **

**Anyways, this chapter should clear up some questions that you might have, and you get to meet the other patients and experience the joys of group therapy. Whoo!**

_Day Two_

Rose shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. It was unlike the TARDIS to be so cold.

_ Wait,_

Rose jerked up into a sitting position and looked wildly around. Her heart thudded in her chest as she tried to figure out where she was.

_Ah, right. I'm in that bloody facility._

Rose groaned and lay back down, pulling the blanket over her head in an attempt to separate herself from the reality of her situation.

"You up?" Charlie asked.

"I wish I wasn't." Rose pulled the blanket back down and sat back up. Charlie was in the same position she had been in when Rose first saw her; hunched up against the wall with her knees up and her notebook resting on her thighs. "Writing another letter?"

"Ding ding ding! With that correct answer Rose wins the competition." She closed her notebook and looked over at Rose. "Let's go see if the phlebotomist is here, but I will warn you getting your blood drawn here isn't exactly a five-star experience."

"Fantastic," Rose grumbled.

They made their way out in to the dayroom and spotted a woman in a lab coat.

"Et, voila!" Charlie gestured grandly towards the woman.

A few minutes later, Rose sat on the couch, grumbling and pressing a piece of cotton to crook of her elbow. She could already see a bruise forming. This wasn't surprising given the amount of digging around in her arm that had been done.

"Hey, at least now you get to experience the joy of walking ten feet down the hallway and eating shitty hospital food in the cold cafeteria." Rose glared at her.

A few more patients trickled into the dayroom, and after a bit an attendant led them through the thick double doors and into the hallway. It was exactly what Charlie told her it would be. Ten feet through the hallway and they were in the cold cafeteria. There was one thing that Charlie had neglected to mention, though. As their group was walking into the cafeteria, an attendant led a group of small children in the opposite direction. Rose gaped. "Um, why are there kids in here?" she asked Charlie.

"They're batty, duh."

"But they're. . ." Rose struggled to find a word that would emphasize how peculiar this was, ". . . they're _kids_! What on earth are they doing here?" Charlie laughed.

"A lot of them struggle with anger and impulsiveness. Some of them are in here for abusing their parents and—"

"Hold on—abusing their parents?"

"Yeah, they are physically abusive towards their parents and the parents don't want to defend themselves for fear they might hurt their kids." She shrugged. Rose was having trouble with how normally Charlie was speaking about this. For all of the planets she'd been to, all of the monsters and different cultures she had been exposed to, Rose had never been witness to something like this, and definitely not here on Earth. "Come on," Charlie nodded towards the food counter, "it's time to find out what beauty they've cooked up for us on this fine morning."

The 'beauty' turned out to be scrambled eggs, (originating from a powder and colored an unusually bright yellow), and English muffins, (as edible as cardboard). Rose followed Charlie to one of the tables and they sat down in between the other patients.

"Everyone, this is Rose," Charlie pointed to Rose, "Rose, this is everyone," she gestured around the table. "More specifically, this is Neal," she pointed to a dark-skinned beanpole of a guy with a scruffy, pointed face, "Dave," a heavily-blemished teenager with brown hair sticking up in every direction, "Carina," a curvy Hispanic girl with a small mouth and large eyes, "Adam," a small and extremely thin guy with glasses, "Alexa," a heavy, filthy-looking girl with greasy, reddish hair and swollen, droopy eyes, "Gwen," a woman with long honey-blonde hair and a back brace, "Marina," a small, curly-haired and very busty young woman, "Evan," a man that was Disney-prince level of handsome, "and Mark," a thick but muscular guy with a mohawk. They each responded differently to the introduction. One corner of Neal's mouth twitched up in a smile and he waved shyly at her. Dave smiled so widely that Rose thought he was doing it more to expose every one of his bright white teeth rather than to welcome her. Carina gave a quiet smile, while Adam just continued to stare at his food and Alexa merely grunted. Gwen gave Rose a warm, motherly smile and Marina said, "Hello!" Evan waved and Mark gave Rose a lingering once-over, catching her eye and leering. Rose's stomach squirmed uncomfortably and she decided to avoid Mark as much as possible.

"So," Marina began, "which stage is she in?" Rose looked over questioningly at Charlie. Charlie grinned.

"She's got her bracelet and she's getting started on the blanket-wearing." Rose's brow wrinkled with confusion. Marina looked over to her and answered her un-asked question.

"There are certain . . . levels that everyone goes through. It's kind of like the stages of grief, but instead of passing through the different stages, the stages pile on top of each other. It starts with the info bracelet, and then you start wearing a blanket everywhere," she pointed to the blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Okay, what are the other stages?" if Rose could deal with blue aliens that spit in your face as a present, she could handle the peculiarities of a psych hospital.

"Hairy legs, no makeup, medication, you memorize the times for group, you pick up medical terms . . . those are the basics. But I have to ask, what are you in here for?"

"Well, I was told that someone called the police and reported me as a dangerous madwoman. I was picked up at the market and taken here."

"Let me guess, you aren't depressed, manic, borderline, schizophrenic, violent, or suicidal, right?"

"Nope."

"Awesome. Just another wasted bed. No offense, Rose, but I hope you get out soon. You don't belong here, and you're just taking the place of someone who really needs to be here."

"Don't worry; I'm with you on that. Does this happen a lot?"

"Sadly, yes. The police here are really stupid and they don't look into whether the reports they get are valid or not. Last week there was a guy here who's girlfriend had called the police and said he was psychotic just because he broke up with her. He was completely normal, just sick of how controlling she was, and he ended up in here. It's ridiculous. But the doctors here aren't stupid, and they usually get you out before 72 hours have passed if you don't belong."

"72 hours? What's that about?"

"If you are reported as being a danger to yourself or others, you're placed on 51-50. It's a three-day hold. They can keep you past that, but I don't think they will in your case," Geneva piped in.

_Three days. Three bloody days. _

"So the doctor," it felt wrong to use that title to describe anyone but _him_, "he's the one who decides how long I'm here and medication and stuff?" Geneva, Marina, and Charlie nodded. The others had gone back to their food and their own conversations by this point. "How soon will I get to see him, d'ya think?"

"Most likely in an hour or two. One of your patient rights is to see a psychologist within twenty-four hours of your admittance," Charlie said through a mouthful of eggs and ketchup. Rose let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She could convince the psychologist she doesn't belong in the facility and she would be released.

_Rose, getting out of the facility won't bring the Doctor back, _a nasty voice in her head said. _He left you here because he doesn't want to deal with you anymore. You're just a pink-and-yellow ape to him. Remember meeting Sarah Jane? He ditched her, didn't he? What makes you think you're so special, so different? _

She remembered his ninth regeneration; when he first took her hand and told her to "Run!" with that manic grin of his. And the next day when he told her who he was, he took her hand again. Later that same day they were running with terror and exhilaration in their veins, and they clasped hands. It was a sign—that third time—that their hands found each other even when it was most inconvenient. It's not wise to hold hands while running, it's almost a plea to the universe to cause one to trip, but they did it anyways. After Cassandra, that bitchy trampoline that called herself human, had stretched and splattered the room with her remnants, they watch the Earth's pieces float through space and his hand found hers. When they thought they were to going to be killed by the Gelth, the Doctor had told her, "I'm so glad I met you," and there came that unholy palmers' kiss again. This joining of hands became second nature to them. And then he went and called them both fantastic and changed to someone different. But he woke up from his post-regeneration sleep when she said, "Help me," into his ear. And when they stood in front of the TARDIS with the ash from the spaceship above floating down like snow, he gave her his still-new smile and their hands came together. He may have changed but they as a unit remained the same.

_Have anything to say to that, hmm? _The nasty voice was silent.

As promised, when they were sitting on the dayroom floor and playing cards, one of the three psychologists approached her. He was tall, with a beer belly, round glasses and a short, center-parted haircut from a much different era.

"Miss Tyler?" he looked at her, questioningly, "can I speak with you?" Rose excused herself and followed the psychologist to one of the private rooms.

"Hello," he said once they were settled in the tiny room, "I'm Dr. Ross. How are you doing?"

_I'm stuck in the loony bin, the Doctor is gone, and I have no idea how I'm going to get out of here. I'm not okay. I'm really, really not okay._

"I'm okay."

"Alright, then, let's start with the basics. Do you worry continually almost every day about big and small problems, situations, events, and/or activities?"

"Nope."

"Do you have upsetting or distressing thoughts, impulses, or images that happen in your mind over and over again?"

"Nope."

"Has there ever been a period of time when you were not your usual self and you felt so good or so hyper that other people thought you were not your normal self or you were so hyper that you got into trouble? A period of time when you were so irritable that you shouted at people or started fights or arguments?"

"No and no."

"How is your mood?"

_Decent and upbeat unless there's danger or the Doctor's missing. _

"Pretty upbeat."

"Do you hear voices or see things that others don't?"

"Not that I know of."

"How is your sleep?"

"Fine when I get it. But often things get in the way and I don't get to sleep too much."

"What gets in the way?"

_Being jailed, enslaved, running for my life, saving the world. The usual._

_ "_Taking care of my friends."

"Do your friends often need your help? Are you the person that tends to take care of things for others?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"You know, Rose," he set down his notepad and looked up at her, "sometimes you've got to let people deal with their own problems so that you can take care of yourself."

_A) If I didn't step in people would die and B) someone has to help the Doctor carry the weight of the universe._

_Maybe you're more of a hindrance than a help, idiot. Maybe that's why he's gone. _

"Rose? Is something the matter?"

"Sorry, I-I was just thinking about a friend."

"Is he one of the friends that depend on you?"

"No. He's the one that helps me. Well, he used to—I" Rose stopped, feeling tears forming. She tried to blink them away, but they welled over and rolled down her cheeks. A strangled sound escaped her and she clamped her hand over her mouth, embarrassed that she was crying in front of a stranger and furious that the disappearance of the Doctor had shaken her so badly.

"It's okay, Rose. Really." He pushed a box of tissues across the table towards her and she took it gratefully. It took her a moment, but she calmed herself down and cleaned up her face.

"Sorry, it's just that my friend, John, he disappeared. I was at the market and this happened and I haven't been able to reach him—no one has—and that's so unlike him. He's always there."

"Well, I don't know about your friend, but I know you'll be okay. You seem remarkably stable, if a little shaken, and I know you shouldn't be here. I will try to get you out as soon as I can. But, Rose, take advantage of the situation. This place is here to help people and with all that you sacrifice of yourself to help others, I think it will be good for you to have the chance to get support from us." Rose nodded, not trusting her voice after crying.

"Okay, you should probably head on out. I don't want you to be late for group."

Dr. Ross led Rose to the group room. The other patients were already there, seated around the large white table. The only available seat was next to Gwen and Mark. Rose groaned inwardly. Gwen seemed lovely, but Mark not so much. She steeled herself, and sat down. She had bested many a monster and aliens bent on world (and sometimes universe) domination. She knew she could deal with a creep for a bit. Mark leaned his chair back onto its two back legs and smirked at her. She hoped he'd fall over.

"Hello! For those who don't know me, I'm Keira." She gave the room a small wave. Everything about her seemed so very young, from her pink-rimmed glasses to her mousy-brown ponytail to her bright pink sweater and ending with her pouty lip-glossed mouth and upturned nose.

_I wear pink, but, man, that's excessive._

"This is supposed to be your social worker-led group, but Lupita is sick, so I'll be standing in. I'm a psychology intern here. Alright," she said, turning to the whiteboard behind her, "today we're going to be working on interpersonal relations. That means skills that will help you deal with those around you. The skill we're working on today is GIVE. That stands for be gentle, act interested, validate, and easy manner." Keira wrote this out on the board.

"This skill is most helpful during intense conversations. You need to be gentle with the other person because during challenging conversations people tend to jump and lash out at the smallest thing, whether intentional or unintentional. Now for act interested, it's 'act' because you don't actually have to be interested, but if you want someone to listen to you, you have to listen to them. Acting interested can help you focus on what the other person is saying rather than zoning out and risk missing something important. Validation may be the most important part of this. It doesn't have to be a lot, you just need to show that you care, without being overbearing. Say your friend is upset with you for lying to them. Recognize that whether it's true or not. Show that you see why they are upset. For example, you could say 'I see that you are upset because I lied to you.' If you didn't really lie to them, you still need to start with that, to show that you aren't just being defensive. Then you can say something like, 'I would like you to know that I did not lie to you.' It needs to be simple, and then you can explain from there. Then there's the 'easy manner' part. Often during conversations, the intensity builds and builds. To avoid the intensity escalating to the point where neither of you are able to manage a clear conversation, keep an easy manner. If the other person attempts to rile you up, keep calm and keep your statements simple. That's the only way you will be able to get your point across." Keira approached the table and set the pens down.

"We're going to do a roleplaying exercise," she said and Dave groaned. He wasn't the only one who wasn't too excited about this.

"Pair up with the person next to you," she continued, ignoring the obvious discontent in the room. Marina turned to Gwen and Gwen nodded to her, casting Rose a sympathetic look. It was Rose's turn to groan. Mark grinned.

"One of you is upset with the other because they lent the other person something and they haven't gotten it back. Go."

"I want my heart back, Rosie, baby. I didn't mean to lend it to you, you stole it when you first showed up in here," he said to her with puppy-dog eyes and a pout.

_Keep your cool, "Rosie, baby" Don't let him get to you. You're better than he is. _

"I see that you have misplaced your ability to flirt and now have to result to leers and pathetic come-ons. It appears that you are upset because you think that I have in some way 'stolen your heart,'" she 'validated gently.' "Believe me, you insignificant creep, I don't want anything to do with you. Your heart is not in my possession. It probably ran away from you to find someone who was actually capable of love and decency. Remember, 'Markie, baby,' hearts are like Thor's hammer; only those who deserve them can have them. Sucks for you." He looked like he had swallowed a lemon.

"Well done, Rose. That was perfectly executed if a little sharp. But in this case I think it was well-deserved and to the point," Keira said from behind Rose. "And you did a good job, too, Mark. You really pulled off the whole disgusting-and-desperate-loser act." Rose bit down on her lip to keep from laughing. Mark turned away in a huff, refusing to look at either of the women that had so thoroughly beaten him.

_Now, this? This I can do. After Jimmy Stone, I can handle anyone. And damn, Keira isn't as naïve as I took her to be. _

Rose turned back away from Mark to face the whiteboard where Keira was now standing. Gwen and Marina were staring at her questioningly. Rose mouthed, "Later," and turned to Keira as she started talking again.

"That's it for this group, guys, it's lunchtime."

They filed out of the room, but Rose made sure she was the last one in the room. "Thanks," she said to Keira.

"A dick is a dick. No matter what he has going on with him, it doesn't give him the excuse to be a creep. You handled him well, putting him in his place without getting nasty and taking it too far. I'm impressed."

"You know, I wouldn't have expected the people here to be so nice an' all. I thought it would be a bit more, you know, cold."

"And where would that get anyone? Well, honestly, you got lucky that you ended up here. This is the best facility in the region. Most of the other places are pretty much what you'd expect them to be. The system is really only focused on averting crises. So they lock people up for a few days and cross their fingers that they don't do anything once they're out. It's really terrible, but the people here try to make it different. It's not perfect, but it's what we can do."

_The Doctor would try to hug everyone here, _Rose thought as she joined the others in the hall.

Sitting with the other women in the dining room, Rose felt okay. It was weird, no doubt about it. The almost completely nonresponsive patients kind of freaked her out, and she was constantly wondering what the others were hospitalized for, but she was feeling more like herself. She hadn't changed history or anything, but she was glad she could still put someone in their place on her own. She had gotten so overtaken with anxiety she had forgotten she was perfectly able to take care of herself on her own. The psychic paper, the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor's oversized idiot-brain and the TARDIS were a Godsend in times of crisis, but she had done perfectly well before the Doctor came along. She could handle anything that regular old human life threw at her.

"What happened during group earlier?" asked Marina. Rose fondly recalled the event, happy to lure out a few laughs from those surrounding her.

Lunch passed peacefully, and it was quiet time when they returned to the unit. Rose decided to shower.

"I don't suppose we're allowed shaving razors, are we?" Charlie laughed and shook her head.

Rose went into the bathroom to undress. Running her hand over her leg, she yelled to Charlie, "I feel like a wooly mammoth! Is this facility some great ploy to turn us into animals for the slaughter?"

"If it is, they're succeeding in the transformation, but not fattening us up. We aren't going to be very tasty with what they feed us," Charlie yelled back.

Rose laughed and got in the shower. It was a frustrating experience; no matter how she turned the dial, she couldn't get it to be anything other than freezing cold or blistering hot and there was absolutely no water pressure. To avoid melting the skin off her bones, she settled for freezing cold. Surprisingly, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. The water trickled down her skin, soothing her as it startled her into alertness. She felt awake, as though she had been in a fog and it was finally lifting.

_You're going to get out of this. Dr. Ross said he would get you out of here. _

Smiling, she hopped out of the shower, dried herself off, and pulled her clothes back on. She went back into the room and plopped down on her bed. Charlie was in her usual position, scribbling in her notebook.

"Read one to me," she said, "I'll probably never see you again, so what's the harm?" Charlie's eyes widened and she gaped at Rose, her cheery, humorous façade completely absent.

"I—I never—gah," she stammered.

"Come on," Rose plied, "you can't keep everything in your life stuffed in that notebook. It's going to explode all over one day, or you over it. You might as well start by reading one to me." Charlie stared at her, expressionless. She stayed like that for so long that Rose began to wonder if she had gone catatonic. Then, Charlie gave a barely noticeable consenting twitch of her head. She curled up even tighter and began to read.

"Mona,

It has been over a year since we first met at Doughty's Books. For the first few months, nothing seemed particularly unusual. I would come to the bookstore every morning when it opened at nine. I didn't wonder why I was so drawn there; it seemed pretty obvious. With all the time I spent traveling around, there was no one constant around me. I hadn't had a dependable friend in years, so of course I loved being able to see the same person every day. I would sit in the chair in the corner and whenever you got the chance you would ditch the register and come over to sit with me. We would start the day by talking about Jeffrey Eugenides and Neil Gaiman and David Benioff, then, before lunch you would pick out a book at random and come over and bring it to me to read until your lunch break. Then we would go to the café next door and I would get the egg-salad sandwich and you would get the minestrone soup and I would tell you about the book. Then came the day when you handed me a book of erotica. You didn't even look at it before handing it to me, so I know you didn't know what it was. It was an amusing read. I'm not a virgin; I had many opportunities for experimentation while I was away from home. I had just never found it particularly wondrous or anything like that. Sure, it was enjoyable and it was a release but it never meant anything to me. So I read the book for a giggle, looking forward to seeing your face when I would describe the read for you over lunch. But one of the later stories caught me by surprise. It was about two friends—two women—who decided that they wanted to try having sex with one another. Remember how I slammed the book shut? It was so loud that you looked up from the register in surprise. I was blushing furiously and I practically ran out of the store. I spent the rest of the day working out, trying to sweat out my confusion. The next day, I pretended nothing had happened and when you asked about it I just said I hadn't felt well. You believed me, and we continued our routine. But ever since then, I've felt different. The damned book made me curious. I had never had sex with a girl, I hadn't even considered it. A week later I went out to a bar, met a nice woman, and we went to bed. It was enjoyable, like my other times, but it still felt empty. That's when I realized that I was wishing she was you; that I didn't just want sex, I wanted it to mean something and I wanted it to mean something with you. And ever since then, even though I've continued as I always have, I've been riddled with fear. My anxiety has shot through the roof. I know we have become close; our conversations have gone way past books and into our personal lives. I don't understand myself. I have never thought about women this way before. Never in my life has there been the slightest hint that I might desire that. So now I don't know what to do with myself and last week I just couldn't stop thinking and thinking and thinking and I found a bottle of aspirin and I downed it and whoop-de-doo I'm back in the hospital and you're probably wondering where I am or maybe you're not and that's what terrifies me, that's why I could never tell you any of this. I just don't know."

Charlie closed the notebook but didn't look up. Rose was in shock. She has considered all sorts of things that might be contained in that notebook, but definitely not that. She wasn't uncomfortable, she was glad to find. This was just new for her. She knew _of _people that were gay, but she didn't actually know anyone that was. This was new territory for her, but it was new territory for Charlie, too.

"It's okay, Charlie, completely okay. Just breathe and listen to me. You'll figure this out. I'll help you figure this out." Charlie let out a long breath and looked to Rose. Rose gave her a warm smile, but there was a tightness in her chest that she didn't like.

_Hit a little close to home, didn't it?_ Ah, the nasty voice was back.

_What, a book of erotica? I don't think so._

_Nice try, but I'm a part of your head. I know how you feel about the Doctor. _

Oh, fudge.

"Rose?"

"Ah, sorry, I just—I have this friend. Sorta like you, I guess," she admitted.

"The one you travel with?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Hey, it may be awkward, but you've got to count your blessings. At least he's a guy, so you get to avoid the whole sexuality-crisis thing." Rose laughed.

_Well, mostly a guy. A guy with two hearts and a changing face._

_Doesn't matter, he ditched ya. _

_Go away, asshole._

_Hey, watch it, that's your head you're insulting_.

"Yeah, well, I've got my own crisis. He's gone." Rose tried to smile, to make it a joke, but it was pathetic and she knew it.

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"Like, I end up in here and all of a sudden no one can reach him." Charlie sat and thought for a moment, her nose scrunched in contemplation.

"Well, that is a bit dodgy, but there's probably a reason behind it. Maybe a family crisis?" Rose snorted.

"'E doesn't have a family. They're all gone."

"Oh," Charlie's nose scrunched up again, "well, we can't mope around forever, can we?"

"Says the girl who has spent the past God knows how long moping!" Charlie laughed, her face bright and open. It was the first time Rose had seen her so, well, okay.

"Well, you've inspired me. We've both got a bit of a shit romantic life at the moment, but we can deal. I promise to try and accept what I'm feeling and be honest about it if you do the same. Maybe this'll end badly, but hey, it's worth a try." Rose shrugged, the Doctor was already gone, it couldn't get much worse.

"It's a deal." Charlie grinned.

"Your turn then," Charlie waggled her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Well, I spilled my little gay soul, so it's your turn to embarrass yourself."

"Alright then, his names the—John. John. So, as I said, we travel together. We run into trouble pretty much every day, and we take turns saving each other. For the first year it was fantastic, just fantastic. We got closer and closer and met wonderful people and crazy people. We saw fantastic and terrible things. We even danced. Then one day, we got ourselves in some deep shit. He tried to get me out of there, but I knew that without me he was going to die. So I came back as fast as I could and saved the day. Ever since then, things have been a little different. Not bad, just. . .different. We're closer than ever now but he's so hard to read that I can't tell if he wants more or not. I know I do, he's foxy and brilliant." They both laughed, but Charlie shook her head.

"I feel like such a little nerd compared to you. I spend my days in a bookstore while you travel about kicking ass and taking names. You're a superhero!" Rose giggled and there was a knock at the door. Dr. Ross stepped inside the room.

"Rose I have good news: you're free as a bird. Let's go clear some things up first, though." Rose was shocked, she knew she wasn't meant to stay, but she was almost getting used to the place.

Dr. Ross sat across Rose in one of the small rooms and handed her a form.

"Everyone has to fill out a safety plan before they go. Check off all of the skills that you've learned in group and write down the names of people you can call when you need help. Then write down the motivation you have for keeping yourself safe and out of the hospital. Sign there." Rose did as she was told.

"Okay, so tell me, how has it been for you here?"

"It was strange at first, but I got used to it and I've actually learned a lot here."

"Good!" Dr. Ross smiled. "What did you learn?" Rose listed off the skills she had learned during the group sessions.

"And talking to people here, I realized that I need to start being honest about how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. I'll never accomplish anything if I don't stand up for myself."

"You, my dear, are going to be okay. I can't promise you a life of sunshine and frolicking through fields, but I know that you'll get through whatever comes your way."

"Thank you." Dr. Ross smiled again and ripped off the carbon copy of the safety form. Handing her the top sheet.

"Keep this close. I'll call your mother—Jackie?" Rose nodded. "I'll tell her you're free to go, and I'll give you some bags so you can go pack up."

Back in the room, Rose turned to Charlie.

"Thank you. You welcomed me here and made this whole situation a whole lot less scary than it could have been." Rose picked a pen up from the table between the beds. "Give me your hand." She scribbled her number on Charlie's palm. "Write that number in your notebook and don't lose it. You can call me whenever you want. Whether you need help or you just want to chat or you want to meet up, anything." Charlie nodded. A second later they were wrapped tight in a hug.

"Thank you," Charlie mumbled into her shoulder. "You're the first person who I've told about Mona, about all of that." She pulled back and looked at Rose. "You didn't freak out and you just said it would be okay and that was the first time in ages I felt like things would be alright. Now I know that if I'm honest I'll feel better. Not perfect, but better. Thank you for being so amazing."

"Well, I am a superhero after all."

"'Bye, Rose."

"'Bye, Charlie."

Rose met her mother by the nursing station and an attendant led them outside. The sky wasn't clear but Rose was so used to being inside that what little sun there was stung at her eyes. Jackie took her hand and they got in the car. They didn't talk on the way home.

It wasn't until they were sitting down to eat dinner that Rose said anything.

"I'm in love with the Doctor."

"The nine-hundred-year-old alien freak?"

"That's the one."

"I know. But still, that's one hell of an age gap."

They continued their dinner, Rose relishing the non-hospital food in front of her, and Jackie babbling on about Bev's recent boyfriend crisis and some scandal that was on the telly. After dinner, they sat down to watch TV, but Rose wasn't paying any attention.

"Hey, mum? I'm gonna go for a walk. I need to get outside and clear my head."

**_A/N:_** **The traditional hospital schedule has been modified by yours truly to fit the story. I really didn't want to write up the massive amount of therapy that psych facility patients go through. It's seriously excessive. Another thing: the skills taught in the group sessions are real-life dialectical-behavior therapy skills that have been rammed in my head by multiple therapists and DBT specialists. Surprisingly, they do help. Feel free to try them out sometime. If you are wondering if or when the Doctor reappears, soon, darlings, soon . . . **


	3. Chapter Three

**_A/N:_**** Hiya, guys. It has been waaaay to long since I have posted something, but I had midterms and a week-long horrible flu and and and. . . no one actually wants my excuses *sigh* so here's the third chapter:**

_Chapter Three_

Rose shut the door behind her, cutting off the soft murmurs of the television and leaving behind the warm glow of the apartment. She walked down the stairs and stepped out into the cold night. Pulling her arms tightly around herself, she looked upwards. The tar-black sky stretched overhead, sprinkled with stars. It was a bit of a tradition for her, checking the sky. Everywhere she went the constellations were different. But—Orion's Belt, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, the Big Dipper, and the Little Dipper— it only took a quick glance to tell her she was on Earth. She no longer thought of Earth as home, but that didn't mean she wasn't comforted by the familiar constellations. Still, her home was with the Doctor in the TARDIS, now, and she would give anything to be there. Rose kicked a pebble with the toe of her trainer and strolled down the street. She passed a shop playing the R.E.M. song, "the One I Love," and she hummed the tune as she continued on.

She had no particular destination or route in mind. Instead, she went where her feet took her. Well, until her nose took over. She caught wind of a warm, cinnamon-tinged scent and she wasted no time in following it. It took her to a small café that she never would have noticed had it not been for the alluring scent that led her there. A bell tinkled as she opened the door to the dimly lit room. She went to the register and bought a cocoa. It wasn't until the steaming mug was in her hands that she finally looked about the place. It was a very cozy set-up, with couches and armchairs and even the occasional beanbag. A small man sat, hunched over his computer and typing away. Two women sat in armchairs facing each other, sipping their tea and giggling. A couple sat on a couch and speaking softly and smiling. In the shadowed corner sat a man. A thin, spiky-haired, pinstripe-suit-wearing man, flicking through a book.

It didn't surprise her, somehow, but it was odd for him to be sitting there so quietly. There had been no whoosh of the TARDIS to announce him like fanfare, he wasn't in the midst of saving anyone from anything, he was just. . .sitting there. Rose walked slowly over and sat down across from him. He gave no indication that he was aware of her presence, save for his teeth worrying his bottom lip.

"Hello," she said.

It was then that he looked up.

.&.

_Rose. _

There she was, in all her pink-and-yellow glory, looking straight at him. Her face was an impasse, clearly manufactured this way until she could assess the situation. Would she forgive him? It hadn't been intentional. In fact, he was so used to having her around that he had felt an almost physical pain in her absence. He tried to respond, to say anything, but he hadn't narrowed it down enough and all that came out was a "hng" of confusion and worry.

.&

Well. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but that certainly wasn't it. Maybe excuses, maybe a confused, "Hello, I'm the Doctor! What's your name?" but not the strange noise that had come between them a few seconds previously.

"I don't know if you knew, but I was just released from a psychiatric facility. We tried to reach you._ I_ tried to reach you."

"Yeah, I, erm, I was just at the apartment. Jackie told me everything. And then she slapped me."

_Quelle surprise._

_"_Where were you?"

"In the TARDIS. She wouldn't let me out. I guess she cloaked herself, too."

Rose closed her eyes. It was starting to make sense. She sent a mental message to the TARDIS: _That was evil, but thank you._ She took a breath to steel herself, and reached across the table for the Doctor's hand. His eyes widened and his eyebrows knit together in confusion.

.&.

That was. Did she just? That's—not new for them or anything, it's just, hrm. There was something different about it. Usually their hand-holding came out of fear, exhilaration, or possessiveness. This was intentional.

.&.

_Get it over with, idiot._

"I love you."

The Doctor's lips parted, ever so slightly, and his hand clenched around hers. Sudden panic overtook her.

_And that was the single dumbest thing you have ever said or done._

_But it needed to happen. _

The Doctor's lip curled up on one side, and he let out a small chuckle.

"That's one hell of an age gap." And then they were both laughing, the intensity of the situation being shrugged away with each shake of their shoulders. Soon he was asking about the past few days, about what it was like there. She told him everything, about Mark, about Charlie, about the food and the therapy, about how glad she was to have escaped without medication.

.&.

When she had taken the last sip of her cocoa, they decided to go back outside and wander around. They walked down the dark street, side by side with their steps in sync. She shivered in the cold and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"I love you, Rose Tyler," he whispered into her hair. "There's one thing I'd like to ask, though. Why aren't you mad at me? You needed me and I wasn't there." She laughed, causing him only more confusion. "What? I really don't understand!" She laughed harder, and he pulled away to inspect her for injury. She seemed to register that he was, indeed, very serious, and she attempted to compose herself.

"You are as thick as a boulder. She did this. I mean, she wasn't the one to lock me up, but she was the one to keep you away. She must've known that all it would take was one conversation for me to realize that this," she gestured between them, "would be worth the risk of embarrassment."

"Who is this mysterious woman that you speak of?"

"The TARDIS, you big useless lump." She poked him in the chest and smiled at his bemused expression.

"Huh," he smiled, "well, then, I owe her a thank you."

"Speaking of giving thanks, there's someone I'd like to see."

.&.

_Breathe, idiot, breathe._

Charlie pushed open the door to Doughty's Books and the entrance bell jangled.

_Well, so much for entering unannounced._

Mona looked up from the register at the bell, and caught Charlie's eye.

"Hi," Charlie said, fiddling with one of her shirt buttons.

"I thought you were gone," Mona blurted, pushing her hair away from her face and glaring. "One day you just don't show up and I thought you were sick. But you didn't come back the next day or the day after that. It has been over a week. Where were you?"

_Honesty, remember. You promised._

"I was in the hospital. I was just released yesterday."

"Oh. Are you okay?" Charlie looked over at the clock. It was 11:30.

"Are you game for an early lunch? I could really go for some non-hospital food, and it's kind of a long story."

.&.

They stepped out of the TARDIS, Rose first then the Doctor, and into daylight. Across the street was a small store with an open-book-shaped sign that read "Doughty's Books." The Doctor turned to Rose and asked, "Is this it?"

"As far as I know. Let's go take a peek inside."

A bell jangled as the opened the door. The Doctor pushed past Rose eagerly, putting his stupidly-sexy-glasses on, stuffing his hands in his pockets and eagerly going through the shelves. Rose sighed in amusement and followed after him. She yanked on his arm, "Come on, you idiot, we're on a mission here."

"But, books, Rose, books!" he spluttered.

"_Charlie_!" she said fiercely, and pulled him towards the counter where an old man stood behind the register. "Hi, um, I'm Rose. Charlie works here, right?"

"Yes, but I'm afraid she and Mona went on their lunch break about twenty minutes ago." Rose couldn't help but smile and hope that Charlie was keeping her promise. Seeing her expression, the old man smiled. "It's about time, isn't it? This had better be the day they get to really talking or I'll fire the both of them. Well, I couldn't actually do that. But I know a good match when I see one and I'll be damned if I don't try something drastic soon." Rose laughed, and his eyes widened. "Hey! You must be the one Charlie was telling me about. Blonde, gorgeous, a little peculiar and hopefully with a man—John?" He looked over at the Doctor. "On her arm." Rose couldn't help but laugh again.

"Sounds like me, alright."

"So what are you doing here? As you can see, I've got books of all kinds coming out of my ears, but I have a feeling that's not what you're here for."

"You're good. We may come back for a book, or twenty," she said with a glance over at the Doctor, who was pulling away from her and staring with childish want at the shelves. "But I'm really here to thank Charlie for pushing me in the right direction," she pointed her thumb at her idiot Doctor, "and to see that she kept her promise. See, we made an agreement that we would be honest. I would tell the Doctor that he's an idiot and that I love him, and she would tell Mona what she's got going on."

"I could hug you! This might actually work. Okay, they usually go to lunch at the café down the block. Take a cookie for your journey," he picked a cookie out of the basket on the counter and shoved it at her, "I expect you to return and give me all the details. If this doesn't work, I'm going to lock you two in here with me and we're going to plan our next move in this battle."

"It's a deal." Rose took the cookie and gave him a salute. "Come on Doctor, we have lovebirds to spy on." She tugged on his arm. He didn't move. She growled and took his hand. He turned to her –_finally_—and smiled. She led him out the door and the bell jangled behind them. Once they were out the door, he held his other hand out towards her expectantly. She gave him her best _what-now-you-idiot_ look. He raised his eyebrows, grinned, and waggled his fingers.

"Come on then, Rose, I need fuel for the journey." She pulled out the cookie from her pocket and handed it towards him. He stopped, took a nibble, and chewed. "That's lovely, Rose, thank you, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for." And then he was leaning down and kissing her and he tasted like a sugar cookie and she didn't care about the cookie she was holding anymore and just went after the one with its lips to hers and then her hands were in his hair and his hands were in the small of her back, pulling her towards him. He felt solid and real and she was between crying and laughing because he was all hers and she was all his. A whistle whipped through the air and she pulled away to look.

.&.

_Soft and warm and pink and yellow and feels like home _

_ Wait, why is she pulling away no come back Rose_

He stumbled forward at the loss of her and _no that funny little noise definitely did not come from him thankyouverymuch_

He looked in the direction Rose was looking. Through the glass window of Doughty's Books Mr. Doughty himself was grinning like a maniac and giving them a double thumbs-up. Rose laughed next to him and put her arm around his waist, underneath his jacket.

_This isn't so bad. I can deal with this. Well, I would like to do that kissing thing again. Right now, preferably, but we're on a mission. _

He sighed and let Rose steer him away from the shop and down the block.

.&.

They passed a pet store and a clothing shop and they were passing a bike shop when Rose spotted them. The two women were sitting at a table outside of the café, Charlie's face was towards them, but Mona's back was towards them. To avoid being seen, Rose pulled the Doctor into the alley between the bike shop and the café. She stuck her head around the building and took a peek. Charlie looked damn happy. She was smiling openly and Rose was struck by the difference between hospital-Charlie and Charlie-with-Mona-at-the-cafe.

"I can't see a thing, and I think it's time we said hello," said the Doctor from behind her.

"What? No! We can't just—" but the Doctor ignored her and pulled her out of the alleyway. He put his hand in hers and she felt herself relax a bit despite her frustration. She resisted the urge to hide behind his thin figure and walked beside him indignantly. They neared the table and Charlie looked up.

"Rose! Hello! What are you doing here? I thought you would be in Timor Leste or somewhere equally as exotic by now."

"Well, I wanted to say thank you. Really, thank you."

"Me too!" the Doctor added. "Can I hug you?" Rose stomped on his foot.

"Sorry 'bout him. He's a little peculiar." Charlie laughed, and then her eyes narrowed.

"This is John, then? I think a slap is more in order than a hug, honestly. Where were you when Rose was stuck in the hospital? Beijing?"

"There was an incident with his . . . plane," Rose explained. Charlie harrumphed, but relaxed a bit.

"Um, hi, my name's Mona." the dark-haired woman said and stuck out her hand to Rose. The Doctor reached past Rose and shook Mona's hand.

"I'm the Doctor!" Rose stomped on his foot again and he grimaced. "John, I mean, like Charlie said. Doctor John." If Mona or Charlie noticed anything strange about this, they didn't say anything, and Rose was very grateful.

"I also came to see that you kept your promise," Rose said. Charlie blushed, but raised her eyebrow.

"Did you keep yours?" Rose smiled, and kissed the Doctor on the cheek. He tried to turn his face and catch her on the mouth, but she brought her hand up and pressed a finger to his lips.

"That would be a yes," she said to Charlie. The Doctor made a face, and tried and failed to squirm away. "So?" Charlie laughed and chucked her balled up napkin at Mona. Mona stuck her tongue out at Charlie after it bounced off her forehead, then turned to Rose.

"Ten minutes in and she's already an annoying girlfriend."

"Hey! You stole some of my sandwich earlier."

"Yeah, and then promptly choked on it when you asked me out."

"That was terrifying; I thought you were going to suffocate and I would never get an answer."

"How sweet. I'm so flattered I think I should share my soup with your shirt."

"Gah!" Charlie cowered and tried to cover her torso with her arms. Mona smiled deviously and sipped at her soup. Charlie looked up and glowered.

"What? I'm not wasting perfectly good minestrone on you." Rose and the Doctor were cackling at this point.

"You guys are brilliant!" the Doctor gasped out through giggles. "Now can I hug someone?" It was Mona and Charlie's turn to laugh. Charlie stood up and caught the Doctor in a bear hug.

"Hnng! Ow! Ribs!" Charlie pulled away and held her hand out to Mona. Mona took the offered hand and stood up.

"Let's go for a walk, shall we? If I eat anymore soup I'm going to pop." Charlie went in to pay for their meal as the Doctor started joking around.

"Would you like a mint? It's just a wafer thin mint!" Mona laughed, puffed up her cheeks, and pretended to explode. When Charlie returned, the Doctor was doing his best impression of Eric Idle. Charlie giggled, it was pretty accurate. The Doctor turned to Rose and waggled his eyebrows.

"You are not allowed to start singing 'Every Sperm is Sacred,'" Rose warned.

"Every sperm is sacred! Every sperm is great! If a sperm is wasted, God gets quite irate!"

"You are awful and I hate you."

"I love that movie!" Mona said with a grin.

"Aren't you Catholic?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, well, funny is funny and the Meaning of Life is _funny_."

"Can we show them?" the Doctor asked Rose, "Pretty please with a Slitheen on top?"

"Leave out the Slitheen and it's a deal."

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Mona asked.

"Well, she's on Earth right now, but-" he was cut off when Rose slammed her hand over his mouth. "Ow," was his muffled response.

"We want to show you something." Rose explained. Mona and Charlie looked at each other. Charlie shrugged.

"I'm game as long as it doesn't come out from underneath a trenchcoat."

"Did you really have to go there?"

"Um, yeah. That's the kind of surprise I like to avoid." Charlie sighed, and turned back to the Doctor.

"Lead the way, weirdo."

.&.

"A phone box. You brought us to a phone box," Charlie stated. The Doctor grinned and turned on his heel towards the door of the TARDIS. He stepped inside and Rose followed.

"Do you have any idea what they're playing at?" Mona whispered to Charlie. Charlie shook her head, and continued to stare at the blue box. After a moment, Rose stuck her head out of the door.

"What are you waiting for? Come inside already!" she said and pulled her head back inside. Mona shrugged at Charlie.

"I don't see any trench coats. Can't be that bad," she said. She opened the door and stepped inside. She got both feet inside, but froze in the doorway. "Great Merlin's Ghost, Batman." Charlie pushed past her only to fall on her butt next to Mona.

"Damn it all, it was only a matter of time before I started hallucinating. This sucks, I only just got out of the hospital."

"Does this mean I'm hallucinating, too?"

"Hold on, what are you seeing?"

"This big room with a funny-looking column in the middle. It looks alien."

"Weird. I'm seeing that, too." Rose sighed and jumped down from her perch on the console. She walked over to Mona and Charlie. She helped Charlie up, and placed one hand on each of their shoulders.

"Calm down, you idiots. Neither of you are hallucinating. You're in the TARDIS. That stands for time and relative dimension in space. This freak," she gestured towards the Doctor, who was leaning against the console and watching them with amusement, "is an alien. A Time Lord, to be specific. He's nine hundred years old and he's got two hearts. We travel together, but not just around Earth. Although we do seem to spend a lot of time in 21st century London, what's that about?" she asked the Doctor. He just shrugged. "Anyways," she continued, "this is his ship. We can go anywhere in space and time. Oh, and he changes his appearance every once and a while."

"I think I'm gonna pass out," Charlie said.

"I second the motion," Mona said.

"Okay, breathe. That was probably a bit much to take in at once. Sorry about that." She looked at them, thinking. "Oh! You haven't done the checking outside and inside thing yet." She pushed them out the door.

"I think you just attacked them verbally," said the Doctor from behind her.

"Shut up. It's exciting, I can't help it."

.&.

"It looks like a police box. Why does it look like a police box? You know, I never thought I'd be asking why a spaceship looks like a police box. What has my life come to?" Charlie mused as she followed Mona in a circle around the TARDIS.

"This is the strangest thing I have ever encountered, and I've been through you," Mona said.

"You are so mean, I swear. But I get what you're saying. I mean a spaceship-slash-time-machine? Aliens? First of all: _aliens_. Second: _spaceships_. Third: _time travel_. Fourth: somehow we're mixed up in this. I think my brain is going to explode."

"Well, neither of us passed out, so maybe we'll avoid the brain-explosions, too."

"You know what would help right now? Tea."

"I'm on board. Think they have some?"

"I can deal with aliens, I think, but I don't think I can do aliens without tea. Let's go find out."

.&.

"Stop sucking face. We need tea." Rose and the Doctor disentangled themselves, looking a little disheveled. Rose felt her face burn. She cleared her throat.

"Tea. Yeah, tea."

"Hold on, I'm still waiting for it," said the Doctor.

"Waiting for what? Oh, come on, really?"

"It's my favorite bit!" He looked over at Mona and Charlie. "Really? I can't believe you two. Come on, then! Out with it!" He stared at them expectantly. When Mona just shrugged, he swore in what Rose knew to be Gallifreyan but what sounded to the newcomers like a mix between Mandarin and Klingon. "Seriously? _It's bigger on the inside_!" he sputtered.

"That's what you're getting at?" Mona asked.

"Honestly we're a bit too distracted by time travel and aliens to care much about silly things like that. Speaking of aliens, Rose, you said earlier that he's 900 years old. That's one hell of an age gap." Charlie said.

"Oh, God, that's what my mum says."

"But seriously," Mona said.

"Tea!" Charlie finished. The Doctor led them out of the console room and down the hallway towards the kitchen. Rose could've sworn she heard him grumble something along the lines of "worse than Fred and George."

.&.

"So, Rose, how on—well, not Earth, I guess—did you meet the Doctor?" Mona asked.

"Ooh, yeah. I'm guessing you left out some interesting bits when you told me," Charlie added.

"Alright, then. I used to work at Henricksen's," she started.

"The place that blew!"

"Yep. I was there that night."

"And I was the one that blew up the place!" the Doctor announced with glee.

"Please tell me there was a good reason for it. And not liking their jumpers is not a good reason." Rose laughed and explained about the living plastic and the rest of their adventure.

"But their jumpers really were awful," the Doctor added.

"Oh my gosh, when you told me about your adventures I thought you were talking about getting on the wrong plane or culture-difference-based mishaps. I definitely did not consider that you were talking about monsters and aliens that were bent on world-domination."

"Occasionally universe-domination," Rose said.

"More tea. Now." Mona said. Charlie nodded.

Their conversation continued similarly. Rose told Charlie how she really got stuck in the hospital, about the Slitheen and Cassandra and the Gelth. Mona joked about how some of their adventures had similar plots to her favorite books, and Charlie asked about how realistic her favorite sci-fi shows were. Rose was thinking to herself about just how much she was enjoying having Mona and Charlie around when the Doctor nudged her in the shin with his foot. She looked up at him and he gave her a funny look.

"Sorry, I don't speak strange-eyebrow-movements, Doctor." Mona and Charlie looked at them. The Doctor jerked his head towards the hallway. "Be right back," Rose said, and followed him into the hallway. "What's up?"

"How about them?"

"Mona and Charlie? They're fantastic, why?"

"Think they'd be nice to have around?" Rose smiled.

"Let's find out."

.&.

Rose and the Doctor stepped back inside the kitchen with matching mischievous glints in their eyes.

"I smell trouble," Mona said.

"Well, there's always trouble when he's involved," Rose admitted. "But we have an offer."

"What's the offer?" Charlie asked.

"Come with us," the Doctor blurted.

"Please? Without a Slitheen on top?" Rose added. Charlie squeezed Mona's hand under the table. Mona turned to her and raised her eyebrow. Charlie turned back to Rose and the Doctor.

"Give us a second, okay?" The Doctor nodded.

.&.

Charlie sat down in the hallway, and Mona sat next to her. They were silent for a while. Mona was the first to speak up.

"I'm terrified, but I want to try it. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. I'm used to careful deliberation and Spock-like logic. But this isn't one of those situations that becomes clearer with time or thought. This isn't exactly something that you can plan for, either. I've never thought about whether or not I'd like to run off with an alien and his girlfriend before. I never knew there were aliens or that time travel was possible until two hours ago. Hell, I haven't even had a girlfriend for much longer than that!" Mona laughed. "But maybe, I don't know, maybe we should just roll with it. I mean, I have always loved traveling, and I've always loved looking up at the night sky. This is our chance to see the stars and planets up close and personal. So I say yes. God, yes. It would be an instant no if it meant leaving you behind but you're coming too, and that's fantastic."

Mona was kissing her and that was fantastic too.

"Wait," Charlie gasped, "what about Batman?"

"Only you would think about a bird when you're on board a spaceship!"

"Hey! I'm serious here, I can't leave Batman behind."

"And I can't take you seriously when you say Batman."

"Well, I couldn't name my bird Robin. That's too easy."

"You are ridiculous. Let's go find out whether or not this ship is pet-friendly or not."

.&.

"Yes." Rose whooped and the Doctor grinned.

"On one condition," Charlie added, "Batman."

"What?" The Doctor and Rose said together.

"It's her bird," Mona explained, "they're inseparable."

.&.

"I've gone domestic!" the Doctor groaned as Charlie brought her bird on board. Rose patted him on the shoulder.

"One last stop," Mona said, "Doughty's Books." The Doctor cheered up at the prospect of books.

"Can we get another cookie?" he asked Rose. She blushed.

.&.

"I'll only forgive you for not returning after lunch if you're together now," Mr. Doughty announced. Charlie blushed and Mona narrowed her eyes at him.

"You were scheming this whole time you evil—" Charlie shut her up with a kiss. The old man cheered. Everyone jumped when the Doctor dropped a pile of books on the counter with a thud. Rose sighed, grabbed a few cookies from the basket, and fished out her wallet.

.&.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think your bedroom will be down that hallway somewhere."

"Very helpful, thanks," Mona said.

"Hey, be grateful. That's more direction than he gave me." The Doctor made a face.

"Found it! Charlie shouted a few minutes later.

"This is a good idea, right?" Rose asked the Doctor.

"You were a good idea," he said, looking at his toes.

"You're terrible."

"I'm brilliant, but that's beside the point. I only pick the best."

_**A/N: **_**And that's a wrap, folks. But honestly I have so much fun writing this that I could definitely be convinced to continue this. Maybe if you ask pretty please with a Slitheen on top. . . **


End file.
